Gphone on the Horizon?

Two weeks ago, when logging online to check my Google Mail account, I was approached with a foreign "welcome" page. Google told me that I was selected to trial run their new calling feature: Google Voice. I immediately clicked "accept," as I fear falling behind the pack with novel add-ons like this. Once the installation process completed, a "call phone" feature (photo to the right) was now available as a permanent online contact for my chat list.

Wasting no time, I placed my first phone call (to my girlfriend) and was surprised to find clarity, crisp reception, and (gasp!) no "drops." Admittedly, I was not the "receiver" in this real-life Shannon-Weaver experience, but the call seemed to lack any "noise" that would cause her to end the call or, in the least, ask that I call back on another device. The clarity and lack of "drops" are just the start it seems, as Google provides the following video to sway other users to give "Voice" a whirl:

As a Media Studies Professor, I was happy to see the brief history of communication and telephony at the start of the clip, but, that aside, Google (again) may be on to something with "Voice." Having a single phone number that links to every device could both be a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it would significantly cut down on the aforementioned "noise" (see: Shannon-Weaver) in the communication process by making you available always. That, however, is where the curse comes into play.

If someone is, in fact, available always, there may be a rise in telemarketing and voice-based "spamming" (much in the same way your single e-mail is susceptible to "spamming"). That all said, it would be very un-Google for Google to not have considered that... I hope.

In the end, it seems as though Google Voice may have a better shot at breaking through where Google Buzz and Google Wave have faltered. The greatest reason I can consider, aside from managing your own Google Voice account, would be the price: Free. With many people cutting costs where they can, why not start with a $150 phone bill every month? Seems worthwhile to me anyway.

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